HIDDEN
Is transparency always good?
Olah means to ascend. An Olah offering was brought for various reasons including atoning for a sinful thought and in order to raise one’s spiritual level. The animal was slaughtered at Tzafon, near the northern side of the Mizbeach, Altar.[1] Tzafon, north, means hidden. Olah offerings were brought for matters that were hidden in the recesses of someone’s heart and mind.[2]
A Chatas offering was brought by someone who had carelessly committed a sin. Where did this offering get slaughtered? The Torah states: “In the place where the Olah offering is slaughtered.”[3] In other words, it too is slaughtered in the north, Tzafon.[4]
Wouldn’t it have been clearer and more concise to state that it is slaughtered in the Tzafon, as it does by the Olah? Why is it presented in this roundabout manner?
It was not necessarily called for, that the Chatas be slaughtered in the Tzafon. However, there was a concern. If a different area would have been designated for a Chatas, a person would feel shamed by having it known that he had sinned. Therefore, to preserve his dignity, the place for slaughtering the offering was the same as that of the Olah. That way he could bring his offering for atonement without concern that his misdeeds would become public knowledge.[5]
The location accomplished even more. You have two parties, one a Tzaddik seeking to go higher spiritually and another who had committed a sin. The place provides a platform for the sinner to connect with the righteous, and grow spiritually as well.[6]
This arrangement produced a cover for the sinner. However, how would the righteous person who brought the Olah feel? He would be bringing an offering at the same location as sinners. Might people suspect that he too had sinned?
Apparently, that was not something that would cause him angst. This was a person striving to be closer to Hashem. He wasn’t worried about what would be going on in people’s minds. He knew he was doing the right thing. In contrast, the sinner was self-conscious about what people might think. He did something wrong and knew it. By bringing his offering in the Tzafon, his confidentiality is respected. Why he is there, is a matter that is hidden from others. Indeed, the motivation of the person bringing an Olah is also hidden from others.
The part of the Seder at which the Afikoman is eaten is called Tzafun, hidden. When the Matzah is broken at Yachatz, the larger piece is put away, hidden to be eaten later as Afikoman.
It states in Tehillim, “Mah rav tuvcha asher tzafanta li’reye’cha, How abundant is Your goodness which You have hidden as a treasure for Your reverent ones.”[7] This refers to the reward set for the righteous in the World to Come.[8] That is symbolized at the Seder with the bigger piece being put away for the end.[9]
Although people may face challenges, the righteous do not become disillusioned when dealing with matters they do not understand. They know certain things in the world are meant to be hidden. They are secure in knowing that the best is yet to come.
Do we feel that we are in position to understand everything? If we see someone at a particular place or activity, does our imagination draw us to wonder why he is there and feel that we have to know? At what point are we comfortable with not knowing everything, and respecting that certain matters should remain hidden?
Shabbat Shalom & Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Hershel D. Becker
[1] Vayikra 1:11
[2] Shem Mishmuel Tzav 6:18
[3] Tzav 6:18
[4] Zevachim 48a
[5] Yevamos Yerushalmi Chapter 8 Halachah 3
[6] Mei HaShiloach
[7] Tehillim 31:20
[8] Radak Tehillim ibid.
[9] Yismach Yisrael